Customer Reviews
The beginnings of Marvel - By: dogbarkssome, 19 Jul 2005 
Here it is - a massive high quality reprint of the first 30 issues of The Fantastic Four (plus the first Annual) from 1961-1964, & the bedrock upon which the entire Marvel universe of comics is constructed. There had been superheroes before Marvel of course, with DC's Superman & Batman being the most famous examples, & even early pre-Marvel characters such as Captain America & the Sub-Mariner are given a dusting down & re-introducedin these pages, but the Fantastic Four completely rewrote the superhero rulebook & kick-started an incredible period of inventiveness from Stan Lee & co, with the likes of Spider-Man, the Avengers, the Hulk, the X-Men, Daredevil, Iron Man & more going on to dominate the genre.
Probably the biggest change for the Fantastic Four was that instead of being a bunch of character-less square-jawed do-gooders the Fantastic Four acted like a real dysfunctional family, & at the heart of this was the ground-breaking figure of Ben Grimm - the Thing, a 'superhero' cursed with an appearance so foul he resembled a walking monster, & who's tendency to fly off the handle seemed as though the character really could turn on the other members during these early issues. Grimm's struggles to come to terms with his appearance as a monster gives these issues a real pathos, something that is highlighted when he finally finds acceptance from his blind girlfriend Alicia, & his transformation from a grouch into the heart of the FF is handled brilliantly, with his initial genuine fights with the Human Torch transforming into affectionate horseplay.
The other members are less interesting, but still vivid characters -hot-headed Human Torch (Johnny Storm) seems designed to appeal to the teen age audience, while the elastic Mr Fantastic (Reed Richards) is so straight faced he almost seems to be a parody of pre-Marvel superheroes. The Invisible Woman (Sue Storm) is more problematicalin the early issues, as her power doesn't really enable her to take more than a peripheral rolein the stories. It's interesting to seein the letters pages some fans dissatisfaction with her & asking for her to be replaced, & it's only near the end of the issues reprinted here that the character is beefed up with some additional force field powers to truly take her place as a full member of the FF.
Of course, being 40-odd years old these stories have dated a little, & the artworkin particular seems very basic compared to today's comics. Jack Kirby would go on to push the entire field of comic book art forward with some truly groundbreaking wild artwork later onin the Fantastic Four's run, butin these early issues Kirby is functional but unspectacular (one must also bearin mind that, just as Stan Lee was writing dozens of comics at the same time, so Kirby was drawing numerous titles a month). Stan Lee's stories can also occasionally suffer from some rather hokey moments, but Lee's humour as the series goes on makes this still laugh out loud funny, & the stories are still wildly ambitious -in only the 4th issue we have the sight of man-monster the Thing venturing into the innards of a giant whale with an atomic bomb strapped onto his back, while the post-modern self-awareness shown by the Fantastic Four as comic book characters (receiving fan letters & meeting Lee & Kirbyin issue 10) is another ground breaking moment. Other great moments includedin this early run include the rivalry built up between the Thing & the Hulk, with an absolutely enormous fight spread over two issues that ends up draggingin the likes of Captain America & Iron Man, while the ongoing love triangle between Reed Richards, Sue Storm, & the Sub-Mariner leads to some great attacks on the surface dwellers by the Prince of Atlantis, culminatingin the epic annual. And that not forgetting the likes of Doctor Doom...
Allin all a little creaky round the edges as Lee & Kirby find their feet, but this was so far ahead of the fieldin the early 60's that it still holds up well today. The addition of reprints of the original letters pages give a real flavour of the Marvel boom of the time, with Stan Lee's direct self-depreciating addresses to the readers building up a real feeling of community. These are the best reprint versions of these early issues, so relive a classic erain comic book history - essential for all comic book fans.
Flame On...For A Great Read (Or should that be Reed?)!!! - By: Scarlettspiderg, 15 Jul 2005 Its the 1960's & Marvel decide they need a super hero team, Marve'l's first family - The Fantastic Four was born. Presenting for the 1st time ever, issues 1 to 30 of Fantastic Four, collectedin a hard back book (weighingin at over 800 glossy pages!).
The issues this book reprints have already been reprintedin B&Win Essential Fantastic Four Vol.1 & Vol.2, & alsoin colourin Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four Vol.1, Vol.2 & Vol.3. However, this omnibus edition includes some unused Jack Kirby covers, various forewords from Stan Lee, Tom DeFalco & Roy Thomas - & (this is the most important part), the reprinting of all the letters pages!
I know it seems like a small thing, but reading fans reactions to the comics as they saw print is quite a tribute to the era & the comic.
So what do the 30 issues contain? The origin of the Fantastic Four, fights with Dr. Doom, Red Ghost, Mole Man, Miracle Man, Molecule Man, Skrulls (including Superskrull), Rama-Tut & Puppet Master!
Addin guest appearances (maybe some tussles with) The Watcher, The X-Men (Original), Sub-Mariner & The Hulk, & you've got a pretty excellent line up of issues.
So what's the downside? Price for one thing (currently £55 for the Kirby cover & £65 for the Alex Ross cover), although the original issues would set you backin the thousands of £££'s & the Masterwork reprints would set you back around £75.
The other (although its also an advantage) is the simplicity of the issues. Story wise there is no hidden plot devices or super in-depth character revelations & art wise...well its the King (Jack Kirby) but compared to today's over used splash pages & awkward character poses some may find the art a bit bland.
So to wrap up - great read for the classic comic fan, or any Fantastic Four/Marvel devotee. However newbies to comics/Fantastic Four may be better off with the Ultimate Fantastic Four (a different universe & setin the present) hardcover (2005) or "The Best Of The Fantastic Four" hardcover from earlier this year (2005).
